Abstract
This systematic review and meta analysis was conducted to investigate the reproductive outcomes in the patients with adenomyosis after HIFU treatment, aimed to recommend HIFU treatment for those women with adenomyosis who have reproductive demand. Extensive search was performed through PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science databases. All available studies that evaluated the reproductive outcomes after HIFU for adenomyosis. Systematic review was performed following PRISMA guidelines. A meta-analysis was performed on data from 15 studies involving 3730 patients with adenomyosis. Pooled results showed that the pregnancy rate (PR) in women who desired to conceive was 54.6%, the live-birth rate (LBR) based on pregnancy was 75.8%, and the possible prognostic factors were non-perfused volume (NPV%) and type of adenomyosis. This review suggests that HIFU was easier to operate, with less adverse events and noninferior to adenomyomectomy. Patients with higher non-perfused volume (NPV%) and focal or internal adenomyosis had more improvement in reproductive outcomes after HIFU treatment. However, the well-designed, prospective, randomized controlled trials (RCT) are needed to compare the reproductive outcomes in those adenomyosis patients after HIFU in the near future.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Data is available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Code Availability
Not applicable.
References
Bergeron C, Amant F, Ferenczy A. Pathology and physiopathology of adenomyosis. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2006;20(4):511–21.
Naftalin J, Hoo W, Pateman K, Mavrelos D, Holland T, Jurkovic D. How common is adenomyosis? A prospective study of prevalence using transvaginal ultrasound in a gynaecology clinic. Hum Reprod. 2012;27(12):3432–9.
Maheshwari A, Gurunath S, Fatima F, Bhattacharya S. Adenomyosis and subfertility: a systematic review of prevalence, diagnosis, treatment and fertility outcomes. Hum Reprod Update. 2012;18(4):374–92.
Peric H, Fraser I. The symptomatology of adenomyosis. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2006;20(4):547–55.
Devlieger R, D’Hooghe T, Timmerman D. Uterine adenomyosis in the infertility clinic. Hum Reprod Update. 2003;9(2):139–47.
Puente J, Fabris A, Patel J, Patel A, Cerrillo M, Requena A, et al. Adenomyosis in infertile women: prevalence and the role of 3D ultrasound as a marker of severity of the disease. Reproductive Biology Endocrinol. 2016;14:1–9.
Osada H, Silber S, Kakinuma T, Nagaishi M, Kato K, Kato O. Surgical procedure to conserve the uterus for future pregnancy in patients suffering from massive adenomyosis. Reprod Biomed Online. 2011;22(1):94–9.
Wada S, Kudo M, Minakami H. Spontaneous uterine rupture of a twin pregnancy after a laparoscopic adenomyomectomy: a case report. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2006;13(2):166–8.
Shui L, Mao S, Wu Q, Huang G, Wang J, Zhang R, et al. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) for adenomyosis: two-year follow-up results. Ultrason Sonochem. 2015;27:677–81.
Feng Y, Hu L, Chen W, Zhang R, Wang X, Chen J. Safety of ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation for diffuse adenomyosis: a retrospective cohort study. Ultrason Sonochem. 2017;36:139–45.
Mikos T, Lioupis M, Anthoulakis C, Grimbizis GF. The outcome of fertility-sparing and nonfertility-sparing surgery for the treatment of adenomyosis. A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2020;27(2):309-31.e3.
Jiang L, Han Y, Song Z, Li Y. Pregnancy outcomes after uterus-sparing operative treatment for adenomyosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2023;30(7):543-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmig.2023.03.015
Chen Y, Lin S, Xie X, Yi J, Liu X, Guo SW. Systematic review and meta-analysis of reproductive outcomes after high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) treatment of adenomyosis. Best Pract Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2024;92:102433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpobgyn.2023.102433
Xiong L, Cheng W, Wang Z, Shi Q. Pregnancy outcomes of adenomyotic patients with primary infertility after high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment. Int J Hyperthermia. 2023;40(1):2264547. https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2264547
Zhou CY, Xu XJ, He J. Pregnancy outcomes and symptom improvement of patients with adenomyosis treated with high intensity focused ultrasound ablation. Zhonghua Fu Chan Ke Za Zhi. 2016;51(11):845–9.
Kwack JY, Kwon Y-S, Im KS, Jeong H, Lee Y. A case report of uterine rupture after repeated conservative treatment for adenomyosis. Clin Exp Obstet Gynecol. 2022;49(8):178. https://doi.org/10.31083/j.ceog4908178
Huang YF, Deng J, Wei XL, Sun X, Xue M, Zhu XG, et al. A comparison of reproductive outcomes of patients with adenomyosis and infertility treated with High-Intensity focused ultrasound and laparoscopic excision. Int J Hyperthermia. 2020;37(1):301–7.
Zhang X, Zhu X, Xue M. The pregnancy outcomes of the adenomyosis patients with reproductive requirements after high intensity focused ultrasound ablation therapy. Curr Adv Obstet Gynecol. 2019;28(4):283–6.
Wei J, Wang L, Tao H, Wang X, Zheng F, He P, et al. Comparison of pregnancy outcomes in infertile patients with different types of adenomyosis treated with high-intensity focused ultrasound. Int J Hyperthermia. 2023;40(1):2238140. https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2238140
Zhou Y, Shen L, Wang Y, Yang M, Chen Z, Zhang X. Long-term pregnancy outcomes of patients with diffuse adenomyosis after double-flap adenomyomectomy. J Clin Med. 2022;11(12):3489. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm11123489
Younes G, Tulandi T. Effects of adenomyosis on in vitro fertilization treatment outcomes: a meta-analysis. Fertil Steril. 2017;108(3):483-90.e3.
Harada T, Khine YM, Kaponis A, Nikellis T, Decavalas G, Taniguchi F. The impact of adenomyosis on women’s fertility. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2016;71(9):557–68.
Zhang L, Rao F, Setzen R. High intensity focused ultrasound for the treatment of adenomyosis: selection criteria, efficacy, safety and fertility. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2017;96(6):707–14.
Liu X, Wang W, Wang Y, Wang Y, Li Q, Tang J. Clinical predictors of long-term success in ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation treatment for adenomyosis: a retrospective study. Medicine Baltimore. 2016;95(3):e2443.
Khan KN, Fujishita A, Koshiba A, Kuroboshi H, Mori T, Ogi H, et al. Biological differences between intrinsic and extrinsic adenomyosis with coexisting deep infiltrating endometriosis. Reprod Biomed Online. 2019;39(2):343–53.
Keserci B, Duc NM. Magnetic resonance imaging features influencing high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of adenomyosis with a nonperfused volume ratio of ≥ 90% as a measure of clinical treatment success: retrospective multivariate analysis. Int J Hyperth. 2018;35(1):626–36.
Bachu VS, Kedda J, Suk I, Green JJ, Tyler B. High-intensity focused ultrasound: a review of mechanisms and clinical applications. Ann Biomed Eng. 2021;49(9):1975–91.
Jeng CJ, Ou KY, Long CY, Chuang L, Ker CR. 500 cases of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablated uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. Taiwan J Obstet Gynecol. 2020;59(6):865–71.
Jing J, Honggui Z. Prospective study of high intensity focused ultrasound combined with gonadotropin releasing hormone agonist in treating adenomyosis. Chongqing Med J. 2019;48(10):1705–8.
Guo Q, Xu F, Ding Z, et al. High intensity focused ultrasound treatment of adenomyosis: a comparative study. Int J Hyperthermia. 2018;35(1):505–9.
Haiyan S, Lin W, Shuhua H, Wang W. High-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) combined with gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs (GnRHa) and levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) for adenomyosis: a case series with long-term follow up. Int J Hyperth. 2019;36(1):1179–85.
Li X, Zhu X. High-intensity focused ultrasound in the management of adenomyosis: long-term results from a single center. Int J Hyperthermia. 2021;38(1):241–7.
Luo S, He M, Zhang L, et al. Pregnancy outcome after high intensity focused ultrasound(HIFU) treatment for patients with adenomyosis. Chongqing Med. 2014;43(4):454–58.
Lee JS, Hong GY, Lee KH, et al. Safety and efficacy of ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound treatment for uterine fibroids and adenomyosis. Ultrasound Med Biol. 2019;45(12):3214–21.
Liu Y, Fu N, Lv B. Uterine rupture after high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of adenomyosis: a case report and literature review. Int J Hyperthermia. 2023;40(1):2212885. https://doi.org/10.1080/02656736.2023.2212885
Lai THT, Seto MTY, Cheung VYT. Intrapartum uterine rupture following ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation of uterine fibroid and adenomyosis. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2022;60(6):816–7.
Funding
This work was supported by a program from the Jiangsu Center for Reproductive Medicine Innovation (CXZX202207).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Data collection and analysis were performed by Jiale Liang and Yugui Cui. The Statistical Analysis were performed by Li Gao and Guodong Sun. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Jiale Liang and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Liang, J., Gao, L., Sun, G. et al. Pregnancy Outcomes of Adenomyosis after Treatment with High-intensity Focused Ultrasound: a Systematic Review and Meta Analysis. Reprod. Sci. 33, 75–83 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-025-02031-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Version of record:
Issue date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s43032-025-02031-1